Cuccinelli Slams McAuliffe on Greentech: 'Run for Gov. in Mississippi'

During Virginia’s gubernatorial debate on July 20, Republican Virginia Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli blasted Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s assertion that he does not break promises. 

Earlier in the debate, McAuliffe touted his honesty, saying, “I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep.” Cuccinelli pounced, saying McAuliffe will “promise you anything” to get elected. 

Virginia’s attorney general cited Greentech, McAuliffe’s failed electric car venture that he located in Mississippi rather than Virginia, as proof that McAuliffe cannot be trusted.

He said McAuliffe promised “900 jobs by the end of 2012. It wasn’t true when he said it. And it wasn’t true at the end of 2012.”

Cuccinelli reminded Virginians that McAuliffe told voters in 2009 that the people of Martinsville, which had 20 percent unemployment, could be helped by one such new production facility.

After Virginia arranged for McAuliffe to tour a production facility in Martinsville, McAuliffe announced he would be moving the Greentech car company to Mississippi. His announcement came without notice and only one day before the tour was scheduled. 

Cuccinelli said it was “offensive” that McAuliffe would use his experiences with Greentech to refer to himself as a businessman. “You picked Mississippi; so run for governor in Mississippi,” he said.